Shigeru Ban to help relief efforts in Nepal

Shigeru Ban, the Pritzker Prize laureate known for his humanitarian work, is lending his design talents to earthquake-ravaged Nepal. Ban’s Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN) will start by distributing tents that can serve as shelter and medical stations.

Kathmandu after the earthquake. (Courtesy Sailendra Kharel/IFRC)

Then, over the next few months as conditions in the country stabilize, VAN will expand its presence by working with local universities to build housing and community facilities that are based on the prototypes of Ban’s other post-disaster work. In a 2013 Ted Talk (below), Ban explains his humanitarian work, which started 20 years ago, when he built shelters made out of recycled paper tubes for Rwandan refugees.